Voice mail systems allow a calling party to leave a message for a called party if the called party does not answer the telephone. With the widespread proliferation of cellular telephones it is possible for a calling party to reach a called party at any time and at almost any location. In the event that the called party is already speaking on the telephone or has the cellular telephone powered off, the calling party may leave a message for the called party on a voice mail system associated with the called party's telephone number. Currently, a called party may control whether a telephone call results in a calling party speaking to the called party or whether it results in requesting the calling party to leave a voice mail message.
In the most common cases a calling party may be trying to reach the called party to have a conversation and the voice mail system is utilized to leave a message requesting the called party to return the telephone call. In other cases, the calling party may not want to talk to the called party but to simply leave a message. The calling party may know that the called party is currently busy (e.g., in a business meeting, attending a class) and the calling party may not want to disturb the called party. In a case such as this, it may be desirable for the calling party to be connected directly to the called party's voice mailbox to leave a message. In other situations, the calling party may not have time to engage in a conversation with the called party, but may want to leave a brief message to update the called party on the status of a particular matter. Currently, there is no way for a calling party to choose to leave a message for a called party without first attempting to ring the called party's telephone. This can result in the calling party interrupting the called party at inconvenient times and can result in the calling party being forced to engage the called party in a conversation that might be unnecessary or that the calling party would like to avoid.